Here you can find a selection of Negroni recipes perfect for the holiday season. Whether you are mixing pre-dinner drinks for your guests, enjoying a cocktail while wrapping gifts or just fancy something a bit different during the festivities, these recipes are fairly simple and can be made in larger batches.
Which one of these holiday Negroni recipes is your favourite?
If you are interested in vermouths, see my previous blog post How Vermouth Can Change Your Negroni.
Popcorn Negroni
30ml Peated Scotch (I used Laphroaig QA Cask)
25ml Sweet Vermouth (I used Cucielo)
20ml Campari
7.5ml Monin Popcorn Syrup
Stir all ingredients with ice and strain over a large cube. Garnish with an orange peel.
Negroni Buccellato
‘Chi viene a Lucca e non mangia il Buccellato è come non ci fosse mai stato.’
Who comes to Lucca and doesn’t eat Buccellato can’t really say that they’ve been there.
Buccellato di Lucca is a sweet(ish) bread made with raisins (sometimes also dried currants) and crushed anise seeds or fennel powder. To create a shiny layer, the cake is glazed with water, sugar and egg.
I first tried a Negroni this way at my local bar, Vinarkia della Pavona, and obviously had to test it at home.
Equal measure of:
London Dry Gin (I used 5060 Gin Rurale)
Sweet Vermouth (I used 9 di Dante)
Campari
Plus a few drops of Chocolate & Mace Flower Bitters
Slices of Buccellato
In this recipe, I infused the whole cocktail (minus the bitters) with the bread for approximately 24hrs. Once ready, strain well and store in the fridge. The bread will suck in some of the liquid so you will lose a little.
When making the cocktail, add a few drops of chocolate bitters in with the already-infused Negroni and stir well with ice. Strain over a large ice cube and garnish with an orange peel or a slice of the cake.
Gingerbread Negroni
Equal measure of
London Dry Gin (I used Chase Gin)
Sweet Vermouth (I used Giacomo Sperone Vermouth di Torino)
Campari
Gingerbread Biscuits
This one is basically made the same way as the one above. I made enough for two by using 60ml each ingredients and six thin gingerbread biscuits. I strained it after about 20 hours.
Stir with ice and strain into a tumbler over ice and garnish with an orange peel.
Christmas Negroni
I used Tarquin’s Figgy Pudding Gin, which is made using their Cornish Dry Gin as its base with added dried fig, clementine zest, seasonal spices and brandy-soaked cherrywood chips. After distillation a dash of PX sherry is added. It is delicious sipped on its own, but also works nicely in this Christmas Negroni. Of course, you could try another Christmassy gin as well. Amaro Meletti allowed the gin botanicals to shine through while bringing a touch of candied orange to it.
25ml Figgy Pudding Gin
15ml Amaro Meletti
10ml Sweet Vermouth (I used Valentian Vermouth)
25ml Campari
Slice of orange (or blood orange if available)
Stir all ingredients with ice and strain into an ice-filled tumbler. Garnish with a juicy slice of (blood) orange.
Coffee & Star Anise Negroni
The coffee-infusion and the higher ABV of the rum really creates a beautifully balanced Negroni. If you can’t get your hands on this specific rum, consider infusing your own.
25ml Coffee-infused Ron Colon High-Proof rum
25ml Star anise-infused Campari*
25ml Cocchi Storico Vermouth
Orange peel and dark chocolate garnish
Stir all ingredients with ice in the glass part of your shaker. Strain into an ice-filled tumbler and garnish with an orange peel and a chunk of very dark chocolate.
*I used five-star anise to 200ml of Campari. Store in the fridge overnight. If you think the infusion has become too strong, add a bit more Campari to it.
Fig Negroni
As this recipe has added sugar syrup, I have adjusted the measurements slightly to avoid the drink becoming overly sweet, and the Navy Strength gin really helps to cut through the sweetness.
30ml Navy Strength Gin (I used Kirkjuvagr Arkh-Angell)
20ml Cynar
20ml Sweet vermouth (I used Starlino Rosso)
10ml Fig syrup*
Orange or pink grapefruit peel
Stir all ingredients with ice in a mixing glass and strain into an ice-filled tumbler. Garnish with the citrus peel.
*To make the syrup, add sugar, water and figs to a saucepan. Muddle the figs gently to release more flavour. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Take off the heat, cover with a lid and leave to sit for 30 minutes to an hour. Strain and store in the fridge.
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